Loan default case:ED quizzes former CFO of Kingfisher Airlines

Mumbai : Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of long-grounded carrier Kingfisher Airlines, A Raghunathan today appeared before the Enforcement Directorate here for questioning in connection with its money laundering probe in the alleged default of over Rs 900 crore loan from IDBI bank.

The ED had issued summons to over half a dozen officials of the IDBI bank and Vijay Mallya-owned KFA under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) wherein all the individuals have been asked to submit details about their personal finances and Income Tax Returns (ITRs) of last five years to the investigators.

“We had summoned Raghunathan and he appeared before us for questioning this morning,” said an ED official here.

“His questioning is important to throw light on various financial transactions, as many of them are in his personal domain,” he said.

According to the official, in his statement to the SFIO–recorded last month–, Raghunathan has blamed Mallya (for the financial crisis that befell KFA) and said he worked as per the directions from the latter.

Apart from Raghunathan, summons have also been issued to former Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, Yogesh Agarwal and other senior executive members and officials of both the organisations.

Yesterday, officials had indicated that the agency will question some important functionaries of the bank and the airlines before they decide on issuing summons to the main player and liquor baron Mallya in the case.

The ED recently registered a money laundering case against Mallya and others based on a CBI FIR registered last year. The agency is also investigating the overall financial structure of Kingfisher Airlines and if any possible kick backs were made.

The ED has pressed charges under various sections of the PMLA against Mallya and others named in the CBI complaint.

The CBI had booked Mallya, director of Kingfisher Airlines, the company, Raghunathan and unknown officials of IDBI Bank in its FIR alleging that the loan was sanctioned in violation of norms regarding credit limits.

The ED is looking into the “proceeds of crime” that would have been generated using the slush funds of the alleged loan fraud and it is also probing if some of this amount was sent abroad illegally, they said.

The Attorney General had yesterday informed the Supreme Court that Mallya has left the country a week ago.